Orca Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Orca Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,888 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.7% of Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Pivotal Research upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.76.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total transaction of $3,741,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,361,837.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total value of $3,741,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total transaction of $5,570,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,765,346. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 220,426 shares of company stock valued at $35,993,340 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $165.14 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.44.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.